Eclosion Arc: Moving Onward

Months had passed, and Yuina had gotten into a new groove. Most of the D-ranked missions she took were chores. She normally worked in silence, but occasionally she would play a tune in her head or hum to pass the time. Sometimes she wished he had company when completing D-Ranks, but she also never complained – it would have been a waste of resources and two to three days a week was more than fair for guidance.

Orochimaru liked to push her buttons when they were together, but he was proactive with her. They would train. He would make recommendations based on his observations. They would have scientific discussions. It was great. It may have been because she had spent a year around eager children wanting to become shinobi, but it was refreshing being around someone who simply treated it like a job.

Unfortunately, it had gotten hard to train with Sakumo for a while. He would show her a new motion and she would be stuck practicing it until he came back and their free time aligned.

It was a lot, and her body craved for rest. Preferably sleep, she had fallen asleep while Sakumo recited poetry twice, and slept in more times than she cared to admit, but even just sitting for extended periods of time made her feel great. A noticeable improvement.

It wasn't like Yuina was purposely pushing herself too much. The rearrangements were simply difficult to come to a happy medium. She knew it would happen. She blurred the lines of work and hobby and paid the price. In response, she made a schedule that she mostly adhered to, which ensured she got enough rest and had time for everything she wanted to do.

She was left to her own devices often. A test of personal responsibility and mental fortitude. Being connected to those three mattered, though. A lot of knowledge came from one's family, to a lesser extent friends. Occupations were mostly hereditary, which was reflected in the nation's poor social and economic mobility. Hard for changes when most followed in their parents' footsteps.

Sakumo and Orochimaru had different areas of interests. It helped keep her on track to diversify. Orochimaru was more interested in jutsu, development, and research more broadly. Jutsu was praised among shinobi, but research and development wasn't what most thought of when it came to their line of work.

Yuina had to admit it was exhilarating to have someone to geek out with. There was still information she was cautious with, but she had opened up a lot in terms of scientific theory. It was almost like the old days. The lab became another home away from home. Another corner of the world where she could isolate herself.

Orochimaru couldn't replace Sakumo or Kakashi, but in a short amount of time she had grown closer to him than she had been with any of her classmates. She could even say she experienced joy when they were on the same page and he wasn't prodding her to do something he wanted or beating her into a pulp. She was hesitant to call him a friend, especially when he was assigned to her as a mentor, but she enjoyed their acquaintanceship. It led to a comfortable routine.

"I heard Minato is taking Kakashi on a C-Rank."

"You heard that where exactly?" Yuina wondered where Orochimaru had heard that. She hadn't been told anything, and that was news Kakashi would have told her.

Orochimaru grinned in the way he always did when he was going to keep something to himself. It would be requested or given that day if it were true. Kakashi was more talented than her when fighting, but she was still worried. Kakashi was stubborn when he wanted to be. Sometimes it benefitted him, and other times it made him blind to the world. Sometimes both.

Yuina wasn't jumping for joy on his behalf, but her fear had decreased significantly. It may have been because she had gotten so wrapped up in her routine that she hadn't considered the implication in months. It could have been that the threats involved with C-Ranks were minimal. Either way, Minato was with him and according to Kakashi he was accomplished in his own right. Yuina believed him. It wasn't like Kakashi bragged about just anyone.

"You're not going to ask for one too?"

Why would she do that? She was content with how things were. An increase in pay was enticing, but that was it. "Project #21 needs to be monitored daily for another 11 days. Otherwise, the data will be compromised and we'll have to start over."

"It's settled then. We'll be accepting a C-Rank mission afterwards."

That wasn't what she meant. She didn't know why he wanted her to take on higher ranked missions. He had gotten out of participating because her D-Ranks didn't require supervision. She couldn't imagine him wanting to waste time on a C-Rank. Something that would have had to happen eventually, but she didn't see a reason to rush. She had just turned six. Though, how long would he be her sensei for? Was he trying to force her to become more independent? His orders or from higher up? She'd miss the lab if she were to be suddenly thrown out with the reasoning that she was capable on her own. Orochimaru too, she guessed.

"I don't get a choice, do I?"

"Mission Services won't give it to you if you yourself state you aren't ready." There was enough shinobi capable of taking C-Ranks. Having enough shinobi completing D-Ranks was another matter. "But you won't oppose." Orochimaru knew Yuina was all too willing to follow the lead. He didn't have to say anything. He would have accepted a mission on their behalf without her if he thought she would resist.

'We'll be accepting' at least meant Orochimaru would be with her. He needed to, but the knowledge brought comfort. Plus, there were plenty C-Ranks had a high chance of leaving the village. It would be nice to get out and see what the world was like first hand. Books could only offer so much, and that was assuming they were accurate – she had read things that were blatantly wrong before.

Yuina stuck to the thought, since she knew she didn't really have a choice. Might as well find something she could look forward to.

True to his words, Yuina went home to an empty house.

It wasn't the first time she ate alone. She cooked alone. Ate alone. Practiced her tanto kata. It was complete and utter silence except. Yuina had difficulties falling asleep that night. Even when she fell asleep, there were times she would wake up from nightmares with no recollection of what they were about. Those were the worst. She would feel unsettled and be covered in sweat, but couldn't even complain about what made her so startled. She thought the worst of it was over when Sakumo had gone back to active duty, but being close to Kakashi helped even if they would have been powerless against an actual threat. It made her more aware of every little sound. Everything from the crickets to the clock may as well have been someone blasting an amp. Even relaxants wouldn't help.

"Kashi-chan! You're back!" Yuina was ecstatic Kakashi had returned. Five days felt too long. She couldn't hold it in, so she ran and glomped him.

"Oof." Kakashi had the air shoved out of him from impact, but he wasn't so rude to dodge Yuina. They were in their home where no one could see. It helped that he imagined it would be the same if he had a large dog that could tackle him for affection. One day, he told himself.

Yuina examined Kakashi to see if he had any injuries she couldn't see. "How was it? Are you okay?"

Kakashi slapped her head away so she would stop. "Do I look injured?" He had taken on over 100 D-Rank missions for Minato to agree. He worked diligently one mission after another so he could go. It was only unfortunate that he hadn't made it in time for his birthday. He liked Minato as a teacher though, so he didn't cause a fuss. "Nothing happened. We took care of a bear that had been causing problems. That's it."

Things back to normal pretty quick with that. Her sleep improved, but she was still mentally preparing herself for her own mission to come. Yuina stocked up on supplies, unsure of what kind of mission she would be stuck with.

Yuina returned to the lab again. Finally, they could put one volatile, yet boring, project to rest. Orochimaru wasn't there, but she thought nothing of it. It wasn't their typical joint lab day, and it would only take a few minutes to record the final findings before properly storing Project #21 – renamed with a string of letters and numbers.

Yuina disposed of the reactive materials before cleaning the equipment and wiping down the tables. Now she could use the day to relax and hopefully get a good night's sleep.

It wasn't in the cards.

Yuina caught the flying object that approached her head.

It was a scroll.

She looked in the direction it came from and there stood Orochimaru next to the door.

"What's this?" Her hands were already moving to open it.

"Our mission. We leave in an hour, so meet me at the gate and don't be late."

Mission?

MISSION?!

"I thought we agreed on tomorrow."

"Project #21 is done. There's no need to waste time until morning."

Relaxing wasn't exactly wasting time. Physical and mental recovery was good for one's health and performance.

Yuina unrolled the scroll to read the details. Once reading it over, he took back the scroll.

Joy.

Maybe she shouldn't have complained that traveling wasn't an accessible activity in this world.

No, this was for leisure. It was for work.

No going back now.